


Sparrows and Iron

by ariminiria



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2018-11-02 01:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 17,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10934250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariminiria/pseuds/ariminiria
Summary: A mysterious girl is brought to the tower, pulled from a HYDRA base. Natasha doesn't trust her, and Wanda can't read her mind. Dressed in a tattered coat, this girl is nothing like the team has ever seen. What happens when Tony starts falling for her? Is she really as dangerous as some think? When HYDRA catches up with her, time itself is turned upside down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the purpose of this fic, Tony was born in 1969 because when I was researching, that was the year I found. Oops, oh well. It works though! Enjoy~

_The setting is a place called the Xavier Mansion, found in New York. The year is 1970._

_On the steps of this great house, a small child has been left, bundled tightly against the biting January wind._

_The door opens and a man notices the curious package. This figure seems timid at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one can tell that he fights a great beast within. The man, still perplexed, takes the child into his arms and quickly ducks back inside._

_He finds a note tucked into the many folds of cloth. He unfolds the paper and begins to skim over the letter, hoping for some answers. What he finds nearly makes him drop the baby. The man rushes to find the professor. This was indeed urgent news._

 

**-Present Day, Stark Tower Avengers Tower, New York-**

“Let me get this straight, Hill, Fury wants to do what now?”

Maria huffed and rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she swore the billionaire was literally five years old.

“We found a girl--well, woman really--in one of HYDRA’s prison bases. She hasn’t said a single word since we got her out, and no one has any idea who she is. The database was wiped so there are no clues there, but best we can figure, she’s a mutant.”

Tony was instantly wary. They didn’t need a do-over of how they met the Maximoffs...

“So… what? They experimented on her? How’d they manage it without the scepter?”

Maria raised an eyebrow, pleased that she finally had his attention.

“That’s the thing: they didn’t use the Mindstone with her.” At his confused expression, she elaborated, “She was born with her powers. Like that group involved in the incident back in ‘73.”

Tony stopped tinkering with the piece of his newest Iron Man suit.

“You mean people like that... what was it, Brotherhood?” he questioned, remembering the cult-like movement that would occasionally try to wipe out all of the lesser ‘ _Homo sapiens_ ’.

“Something like that,” Hill confirmed.

“So what are we looking at here?” he asked, anxiously fiddling with a screwdriver. “Some psycho chick with a vendetta against humans? You want us to lock her up, interrogate her?”

Maria smiled, yet the humor was grim.

“Not this time. Think more ‘traumatized, super-powered girl with a mysterious background’. We need you to sort of... rehabilitate her.”

His gaze snapped to her, dangerously icy.

“And by ‘rehabilitate’, you mean ‘control’? Find out what her powers are and turn her into a weapon?”

The agent kept her cool. She knew that SHIELD had made some poor decisions in the past, but they had to move on from that.

“No, I mean that the Avengers should help her to adjust to life outside of HYDRA. Find out who she used to be, whether she had a family before they took her. We just want to help her.”

Tony still seemed skeptical, but he relented slightly.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Bring her in. But I want the team to be in charge of the whole process.” He pointed the screwdriver at her. “SHIELD has nothing to do with this, got it?”

“Understood,” she said. Satisfied for now, Agent Hill turned and walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

**-Xavier Mansion, 1973-**

A little girl sat on one of the tables in lab, watching her father’s best friend as he worked.

“Uncle Hank, there’s someone at the door!” the three-year-old announced. Her small voice held just a hint of an English accent, which she got from her father.

The man looked up from his work, about to ask what she meant, when suddenly, Hank McCoy heard a faint pounding from the front of the great house. He frowned. Things like this had been happening far more often with the child, and he wondered if it was possible that her mutation could be showing this early. Of course, given who her father was, he wouldn’t be surprised.

He got up, heading to see who could possibly be at the door. Then, he remembered that he was supposed to be babysitting. The “stand-in parent” had become his permanent role since Charles started drinking and obsessing over walking again.

Hank briefly debated whether or not to take her with him.

“Alright (Y/N), I need you to stay here while I go see who that is. Can you do that?”

The girl nodded. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hank started towards the front door. Just before he left the room, he turned around with one last thought.

“And don't touch anything!”

With that, he headed up front. Normally with kids that young, one might be a little more concerned about leaving her alone in a lab full of abnormal chemicals and dangerous things. But (Y/N) was smart for her age. She was  speaking better than most three year olds would, and she liked to listen to her Papa and her Uncle Hank talk about the science of mutations.

However, this meant that she was also too curious for her own good. She would (mostly) listen to instructions, but if you didn't tell her _not_ to touch anything, there was no doubt that she would try to conduct her own ‘experiments’.

Hank answered the door and found a gruff looking man with dark hair and aged eyes standing on the steps. Oh dear. This wasn't going to end well.

Back in the lab, little (Y/N) was getting restless. She might be smart, but that doesn't mean she never gets bored. Whoever was at the the door was very important, she could tell. It was just something she could sense. So, she thought, it might be fun to go see who it was.

When she arrived in the main entryway, Papa was yelling at the strange visitor and Uncle Hank was blue. They had told her a long time ago why her uncle was sometimes furry and sometimes not. But that didn't explain why he was hanging from the chandelier...

“Papa, why is Uncle Hank upside-down?” she asked. The three adults were suddenly silent.

The strange man seemed to be confused, however, as he  frowned and asked, “Who’s the kid?”

Charles shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter. Get off the chandelier, Hank. Take (Y/N) back to the lab or something, somewhere out of the way.”

Hank looked slightly offended, but flipped himself off of the lightpiece. He took (Y/N)’s hand in his paw and started to lead her out, but she pulled away.

“No! I wanna see the Future Man!” she said.

The stranger froze.

“How did you know that?” he asked, frowning again. He seemed to do that a lot.

(Y/N) grew shy now.

“Sometimes… Sometimes I say things, and they turn out to be correct.”

The stranger looked between her and Charles, seeming to make the connection.

“ _You_ have a kid? How did you…? When…?” He trailed off in confusion.

Then, picking another topic, he asked, “You can walk?”

“You’re a perceptive one.” Charles said, coming down the stairs.

“I thought Erik--”

“Which makes it slightly perplexing that you managed to miss our sign on the way in…” the telepath interrupted. “This is private property, my friend. I’m gonna have to ask… him to ask you to leave.” He motioned to Hank with his glass as he spoke.

“Well…” said the man. “I’m afraid I can’t do that because, uh… well, because I was sent here for you.”

Charles rolled his eyes.

“Well, tell whoever it was that sent you that I’m busy.”

The stranger chuckled.

“That’s gonna be a little bit tricky… because the person who sent me was you.”

“What?” Charles laughed skeptically.

“About 50 years from now.”

“50 years from now, like in the future 50 years from now?”

“Yeah.”

“I sent you from the future?”

“Yeah. The kid said it, I’m from the future.”

 

**-Present Day, Avengers Tower-**

Tony had notified the rest of the team about their new arrival. So, those who were able (aka Wanda, Tony, and Steve) gathered at the landing pad, wanting to be there to provide a proper welcome without scaring the poor thing. The Quinjet was taken onto the platform and secured in the hangar. The hatch slowly opened to reveal a timid figure surrounded by several SHIELD agents.

The girl had long (Y/H/C) tresses that shrouded her face as she stared at the ground. Her demure form was draped in a bulky black coat that looked to have once belonged to a male. The rest of her ensemble could not be seen underneath the dark cloak which she hugged to her figure as though it were a suit of armour.

Though she seemed to come along peacefully at first, the moment her feet were off the ramp, she suddenly turned towards the platform. Running out onto the landing, she went right up to the edge. The agents moved to bring her back, but Wanda halted them with a wave of her hand.

“Wait,” she commanded softly.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Maximoff?” Tony questioned urgently. “She’s a bit too close to the edge for my taste…”

“What do you see in her head?” Steve inquired.

She hesitated.

“I-- I don’t see anything… I can’t read her mind.” Her tone had a slightly unnerved asperity. “But I can sense… longing. She needs a moment to be free.” Wanda’s eyes flashed red, taking on a look of painful remembrance.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be locked in HYDRA’s basement… Collecting dust until they might have use of you. Just give her this moment.”

She glanced at Tony, sensing his discomfort at her closeness to the edge.

“You can go to her, but take care not to scare her.”

He nodded and slowly moved towards the mysterious girl. She was just standing there on the edge, serenely basking in the sunlight as her hair blew in the wind.

Though he cautiously approached her, she still flinched when he spoke.

“I'm assuming I don't have to warn you to be careful.”

She jumped as though she'd been caught doing something wrong, turning to face him with wide eyes. He put on a casual demeanor, trying to set her at ease.

“Beautiful day, right? Although, I normally enjoy them through a window instead of standing on the edge of a tall building.”

The girl still seemed wary, though somewhat less panicked.

“You know,” he continued, “We've got a whole room set up for you. Pretty nice, if I do say so myself. Lots of space to yourself… Lots of windows.”

She seemed slightly puzzled by his laid-back attitude, as though wondering why he hadn't dragged her to a dark cell.

‘It’s gonna get cold out here when it gets dark,” Tony said, turning to walk away. “FRIDAY will open the doors for you whenever you feel ready to come inside.”

As he headed back towards Steve and Wanda, he heard apprehensive footsteps trailing behind him. The others seemed impressed that he had been able to coax her into the building, but they went along with it.

The girl seemed reluctant to squeeze into the small space of the elevator, but with a small glance at Tony, she gently stepped on. She stayed near to the wall, avoiding getting close to anyone else.

The elevator arrived on the main floor, but the girl made no move to leave until Tony led the way out.

As they exited the elevator, Natasha came down a set of stairs.

“Steve, Wanda. We have some new recruits that need assessment. Be in the training room in twelve minutes.”

With that, the redhead walked past them towards the elevator. The small group paused, and the girl was staring at the floor once more.

“We'll be fine,” Tony spoke up. “You know not to keep the Widow waiting, just go.”

Steve looked to Wanda for confirmation that the girl was okay. When she nodded, the two of them headed out.

Tony was now left alone with the girl, who looked as though she wanted to disappear.

“I can show you your room, if you want,” he offered.

She quickly glanced up at him, then back down, giving a quick nod.

“Okay then, right this way!” He held out his arm with a flourishing sweep of his hand.

She shyly followed up some stairs and down a few hallways before they finally stopped in front of a door.

“Here we are!” Tony said, opening the door and walking inside.

The girl hesitated in the entryway, but slowly moved forward when she saw the grand windows that covered one of the walls floor to ceiling. Hesitantly yet purposefully, she strode towards the picturesque skyline to rest her hand against the cool glass.

When she spoke, she did so so softly that Tony nearly thought he'd imagined it.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her gentle voice just barely reaching his ears.

Tony was surprised, yet somewhat pleased at her reaction. He didn't reply, sending her a reassuring smile instead.

He might not know her name yet, but this mysterious mutant girl had definitely captured his attention. He was going to make sure that no matter what, she would never have to go back to the life she’d lived in HYDRA.


	3. Chapter 3

**-Present Day, Avengers Tower-**

Having the girl around was an adjustment, that’s for sure. She rarely left her room, and if she did, she followed Tony around like a lost puppy. She had worn the same clothes for four days, and still hadn’t spoken to anyone. Not even to Tony, who never did tell anyone about her brief words that first day. If anyone but him tried to talk to her, she would stare with wide eyes and back away.

One day, she was shadowing Tony as he worked in the lab. Bruce was there too, but he had taken to pretending not to notice her in an attempt to avoid scaring her. Eventually though, the silence started to get to him.

“Well... “ he said, heading towards the door. “I could use a cup of coffee. Tony?”

The man in question shook his head, not even bothering to look up from his project. As soon as Dr. Banner was gone, Tony noticed that the girl was slowly, almost nervously, inching closer to him.

“So,” he started, causing her to jump slightly. Although, by now she was mostly used to him randomly talking to her, even though he knew she wouldn’t reply.

“You know, I get that you’re not big on the whole ‘conversing’ thing, but it sure would be nice to have something to call you other than ‘New Girl’, so if you would maybe wanna… write your name down or something?” He shrugged.

“Just a suggestion.” With that, he went back to tinkering.

“Tony Stark…”

His hands fumbled momentarily, then resumed their movements as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Actually, I believe that would be  _ my  _ name...” he joked, observing the accent that laced her soft whisper. He noticed that her mouth briefly quirked into a smile before growing serious again.

“I trust you.”

Now he did stop. He swore his heart skipped a few beats. He’d never really had someone truly  _ rely _ on him before, and coming from a person in her situation, it meant just that much more.

After a hesitating breath, she continued, “I need your help.”

Tony turned to face her fully, showing her  that she had his undivided attention, though trying not to make her uncomfortable. He could see her hands shaking as she reached up and pulled her coat open just slightly. Stretched tightly across her malnourished form, he could see some sort of harness that looked to be partly mechanical. Underneath that, she wore threadbare rags of plain color.

Slowly, he brought his hands up over hers; the first physical contact she’d had with anyone in the time she’d been there, and yet she didn’t pull away.

Even so, he could feel her trembling in fear as he studied the contraption, then asked, “What is this?”

He looked her directly in the eyes, seeing tears threatening to fall.

“HYDRA did this to you?”

She nodded.

Tony felt a protective anger bubbling in his chest.

“What is this for?”

She didn’t answer.

“Can you take off your coat?”

Her eyes grew in panic, and he hurried to reassure her.

“I just need to see the rest of the device in order to remove it.”

“Please…” she whispered, shaking her head.

Something clicked in Tony’s head.

“Does this have something to do with your mutation?”

Her breathing increased in speed.

“Hey, hey, hey…” he said as he quickly stood, taking her into his arms. She stiffened at first, but then relaxed into his touch.

“Shh… It’s okay. I’m sorry. I won’t talk about it any more.” he muttered soothingly. “I’ll do my best to remove it without you having to take it off.”

Hearing her sniffle, he pulled back and wiped a tear from her cheek.

“You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

Tony smiled.

“Trust me.”

It was silent for a moment, then, “(Y/N).”

He frowned in confusion.

“What?”

“My name,” she replied delicately. “It’s (Y/N).”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, (Y/N).”

Just then, Bruce walked back into the lab. Taking note of their close proximity and (Y/N)’s tearful face, he suddenly became awkward.

“Oh… Um, th-this is a bad time, isn’t it? I-I’ll just--”

“No, no!” Tony reassured, attempting to appear casual. “Not a bad time at all. We were just… talking.”

Over the next few weeks, the billionaire worked diligently to help (Y/N). It was tricky without being able to see the whole device, but once he convinced her to allow Bruce to help, they made a little more progress.

Tony’s attachment to the secretive tenant hadn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of the team. And even though Wanda didn’t sense any malintent from their guest, Natasha and Steve were slightly concerned that the mind-reader couldn’t get into this girl’s head. Natasha could tell that she made the girl nervous, even more so than the rest of the team.

One night, after Tony had spent nearly three days straight in the lab, the red headed spy decided that it was time to ask some questions. As she neared the doors, Bruce exited the darkened room.

“Oh, hi Nat. I was just going make a food-slash-coffee run for everybody. What are you doing down here?” he questioned.

“I need to talk to Tony,” Nat replied. There’s some things I’ve been wanting to ask him about that girl.”

“(Y/N).”

“What?” she asked.

“It’s her name. At least, that’s what Tony says she told him.”

Natasha frowned thoughtfully.

“Any last name?”

Bruce shook his head.

“Tony doesn’t talk much about her speaking to him. At first, I thought he was just hearing things, until I walked in on the end of a conversation one day.”

He paused awkwardly as he noticed Natasha was deep in thought.

“Well… I’ll uh, I’ll see you later.”

With that, the doctor walked off. Natasha silently moved to the doorway, just observing for the moment. She saw the girl sitting on one of the tables, with Tony standing in front of her. He was fiddling with some sort of restrainment harness attached to her.

“So, I’m thinking we could try to bypass the preliminary coupling mechanism to disrupt the electromagnetic conjointment of the primary overlays, but I’m concerned that that may cause the auxiliary constriction apparatus to activate…”

At the girl’s confused look, he explained, “If I try to separate the outer panels, it might trigger a defense mechanism that could crush your ribcage.”

Her mouth formed an ‘O’ shape, but she didn’t say anything. Suddenly, her gaze snapped up to Natasha. How had the girl know she was there? Tony turned around as Natasha stepped into the lab.

“Widow...” he acknowledged.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, nodding at the harness.

“Little gift from HYDRA,” Tony said. “Bruce and I are trying to get it off her, but they put some heavy duty security programming into this bad boy.”

Natasha was just about to ask if she could speak to Tony alone when the girl stood up, shyly whispered something to Tony, and left the room without so much a nervous glance in her direction. The spy thought the occurrence was curious, but she didn’t mention it. Tony set his tools aside, facing her expectantly.

“Well? I assume you want to talk about something.”

Nat was silent for a moment.

“You’ve been a little… distant lately. Ever since that girl showed up, you’ve shut yourself up in here.”

Tony raised his eyebrows.

“ _ ‘That girl’  _ has a name.”

“Right, sorry,  _ (Y/N) _ .” Her tone was stiff.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony scoffed.

“It means that I’m not exactly sure if we should be trusting her. Wanda can’t read her mind, Tony. We have no idea what her intentions are, or what she could be doing to your head.”

“Are you kidding me, Romanoff? She’s just scared! She’s been through some serious stuff and she needs help. I thought you of all people would be a little more understanding.”

He held his ground, refusing to back down under her dangerous gaze.

“This conversation is over,” he stated, pushing past her towards the doors.


	4. Chapter 4

To say that things were tense between Tony and Nat was an understatement. It was like the thermostat dropped twenty degrees every time those two were in the same room together. The rest of the team tried to work around them, but it was getting difficult.

One day, (Y/N) was sitting against a window in the common room, trying not to draw the attention of the others who were hanging out, playing Mario Kart on the big-screen TV. She was just gazing at the skyline when Tony suddenly ran in.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N), come here, I did it!”

She snapped her head up with an excited smile as he ran over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. He dragged her towards the lab, earning curious stares from the others as they wondered what could possibly have the pair so excited.

When they finally made it to the lab, she noticed that Bruce was nowhere to be seen.

“Here we go!” Tony practically zipped around the lab as he brought over a small, circular device.

“You’re sure this will work?” (Y/N) asked softly, seating herself on a table. She had grown more comfortable with him and was speaking more often, sometimes even in front of Bruce.

Tony hesitated.

“No. I can’t be sure, (Y/N), but this is the best chance we have.”

He took one of her hands in his free one, looking into her eyes.

“Do you trust me?”

She smiled, giving his hand a light squeeze.

“I’ll always trust you, Tony.”

He nodded. Then, taking a deep breath, he set the device against the front of the locking mechanism. (Y/N) closed her eyes. She might trust him, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous.

Tony activated the device, holding his breath. Slowly, the metal panels slid apart and the harness unlatched. They both sighed in relief, then (Y/N) started laughing. She jumped off the table, throwing her arms around his neck and catching him by surprise.

“Thank you, Tony...” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”

Hugging her back, he answered, “No problem.”

Then she pulled back, suddenly serious.

“Tony… When I first told you about my problem… I didn’t want to show you my mutation because I was scared. Scared that this  _ SHIELD _ would try to use me the same way HYDRA did.”

She looked down, afraid to meet his eyes.

“I'm still working on… not being afraid. But I want to try to start trusting the rest of your team.”

She hesitated.

“I know Natasha doesn't like me. She's going to ask me to let the Maximoff girl look inside my head, but I can't do that.”

She met Tony's gaze once more, though she didn't attempt to elaborate. (Y/N) shook her head and moved to exit the lab. However, in doing so, she stumbled over her own feet. As she started to fall, Tony reached out to steady her.

It was odd, he noticed as he supported her, but she weighed much more than she should have for someone her size. Through the fabric of the coat, in the area between her shoulders, he felt something not quite right about the shape of her back. Brushing it off as his imagination, he set her back on her feet and awkwardly backed away. (Y/N) nervously nodded her thanks before demurely withdrawing from the room.

(Y/N) made her way back to her quarters, her pulse racing in anticipation. Her heart was racing with the promise of the freedom which she had long been denied. Sighing deeply, she leaned back against the door she had just closed.

“FRIDAY?” she called tentatively, still mildly discomforted by the disembodied servant.

“Yes miss?” came the robotic reply.

“Can you lock the door and make sure nobody comes in here? And can you darken the windows as well?”

“Right away, miss.”

With slightly trembling hands, she reached up to pull the coat from her shoulders. Reverently laying the cloak on her bed, she quickly removed the harness.

Emerging from between her shoulders, two great wings extended across the length of the room. The appendages stretched to rid themselves of the settlement of disuse, spreading the mangled feathers to reveal gaps where the horrid bindings had rubbed the skin raw. (Y/N) sighed to herself. It would take a while for these wounds to heal, but after all that waiting, one thing she definitely had a lot of was patience.

As she admired the neglected limbs, she thought back to when they had first started growing.

 

**-Xavier Mansion, 1975-**

“Papa, my shoulders hurt!”

“I know, darling, I know. Uncle Hank went to fetch something to make it better,” her father replied soothingly, gently stroking his daughter’s hair as she sat in his lap.

Just then, Hank returned with what looked to be a syringe in his hand. Charles frowned.

“Hank, is that…?”

The man hesitated.

“Well… Not exactly. This,” He motioned to the needle. “Isn’t even half as strong as the stuff I use. It’s just to help her mutation grow without causing her pain.”

The professor looked hesitant, but nodded anyway. Hank turned to (Y/N).

“Alright, kiddo. Now this is gonna sting a little, but it’ll make your shoulders feel better.” he said.

The five year old nervously nodded, holding out her arm. Her uncle gently injected the modified serum into her veins, then carefully removed the needle. After cleaning the injection site, Hank applied a bandaid to the small puncture wound. 

“There, all better,” he said with a smile.

To her credit, (Y/N) hadn’t even teared up. Instead, she offered him a small grin and a hug.

They continued to give her the serum to help with the growing pains, and after a few weeks, the new extensions were recognizable as wings. They weren’t feathered yet, but covered with soft, downy fluff.

“Someday,” her father would say, “They’ll grow big enough that you’ll be able to fly.”

Young (Y/N) lived for that day, and the freedom it would bring. But little did she know, the price of freedom was so much higher than she could imagine.


	5. Chapter 5

**-Present Day, Avengers Tower-**

Tony had a lot on his mind. Mostly (Y/N). The way her face lit up when they talked, how her laugh sounded when he told a joke... 

What? No, no, no… He couldn’t be… Could he? Could he, Tony Stark, actually be falling for this strange girl? He shook these thoughts away and went back to toying with a piece of his suit.

Meanwhile, Nat was mulling over every fact that they had about (Y/N). She was determined to find out everything she could about this girl, which wasn’t turning out to be much. Frowning, she called out to the resident AI.

“FRIDAY, where’s the girl?”

Immediately, an automated Irish voice responded, “Am I correct in assuming that you are refering to Miss (Y/N), Agent Romanoff?”

Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Yes. Could you get her out of her room? I need to talk to her.”

“Miss (Y/N) is not in her room.”

“Then is she in the lab?” questioned the spy.

“No.”

She frowned. Those were the mutant girl’s two main hangouts…

“Then where is she?”

Silence.

“FRIDAY, where is the girl?”

If a robot could sound hesitant, FRIDAY certainly did.

“Miss (Y/N) is not here.”

“Come again?”

“Miss (Y/N) left the building, not long ago.”

Natasha’s jaw clenched. Of course. Tony had done something for the girl--which no one knew what--and now she was gone.

“Get Stark. We’re going after her.”

 

The small coffee shop was mostly peaceful. An elderly couple sat in the corner booth reminiscing about the good old days; a few twenty-something year olds were busy with their laptops.

Suddenly, the little bell jangled urgently as a young woman wearing a dark coat burst into the cafe.

“Get out! Everyone, out right now!”

The few occupants looked at her strangely, unsure if they should take her seriously. But, they could see out the window, a few confused customers of the stores next door were slowly moving away from the row of buildings. Deciding to trust this odd stranger, they quickly grabbed their things and evacuated.

Outside, the mysterious girl herded everyone away from the structure that they had formerly been occupying. Once they were at a safe enough distance, (Y/N) sighed in relief.

Then, she was unexpectedly grabbed by the arm. It was Natasha.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed.

(Y/N) opened her mouth to respond, but Tony beat her to it.

“Romanoff! Let her go.”

He pulled the two apart, inspecting (Y/N) for any injuries. Just as he was about to ask her if she was okay, an explosion rocked the ground and the building went up in a cloud of fire and debris.

The evacuated crowd gasped and screamed and ran, while the two Avengers went into defensive mode.

Just as Tony was about to move forward, (Y/N) caught hold of his wrist.

“I got everyone out; it’s alright. I made sure that no one died today.”

Natasha could have sworn she’d seen the girls eyes flash gold for an instant. The ex-assassin was absolutely unnerved by this strange mutant, even more so now that she’d heard her voice: gentle with an accent, yet slightly… commanding.

Natasha didn’t trust her one bit, and she was most certainly discomforted by the amount of control  _ (Y/N)  _ seemed to have over Tony. It was definitely time to bring this problem to the team.

 

All of the Avengers were gathered opposite (Y/N), who was sitting on the loveseat alone. Still wearing her trademark coat, the small girl hugged her arms tightly and avoided eye contact with everyone, even Tony.

Natasha stood scowling, with her arms crossed sternly.

“Why did you leave the tower, (Y/N)?”

She didn’t answer.

“(Y/N),” Tony said, “I can’t help you unless you talk to us.”

He came over and knelt in front of her, taking her hand.

“Hey, look at me. Don’t worry about the others. You’re okay. Just talk to me, tell me.”

She hesitantly made eye contact with him, taking a deep breath.

“If I tell you… I think things might be different.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying not to cry.

“My father called it ‘cosmic awareness’. Sometimes, I have visions, dreams about the future. Sometimes I know things about people, things that I shouldn’t, but it’s like the information is already there, in my head. Today, I saw the explosion and decided to do something about it.”

(Y/N) finally faced Natasha.

“What can I do to make you trust me?”

Natasha’s gaze hardened.

“Let Wanda look inside your head. If you get her seal of approval, then you’re fine by me.”

(Y/N) stood, unyielding. The rest of the team merely watched this intense stare-down in silence.

“I  _ can’t _ do that.”

“And why not? You’re not exactly helping your cause.”

“It would destroy her.”

The spy glared even more intensely.

“Is that a threat?”

“It is a warning! I have the most powerful mind in the world, surpassed not even by my own father. The walls in my mind are not for my own security, but for the safety of everyone around me. The power I have… it’s too much. The last time I lost control…” (Y/N) shuddered.

“People died. They weren’t innocent by any means, but it was still my fault. I couldn’t handle my own mind, what makes you think she can?” she exclaimed, gesturing to Wanda.

“There is a crack in your wall…” the mind reader murmured, eyes flashing red. “But it has been repaired. Surely you can allow me a small window, merely to assess your character?”

The team stared at (Y/N), who grimaced at the notion. After a moment of silence, she spoke.

“Fine. But I am not responsible for anything that you may find in my head. The horrors that you could see there… I would not wish those visions upon my worst enemy.”

Her eyes flickered with a strange golden light, and with that warning, Wanda moved to stand directly in front of her. The witch lifted her hands around the girl’s head.

The red energy glowed for only a second before the both of them cried out in pain and fear. Pietro was immediately at his sister’s side as she clung to him tightly. Clint came over to her as well, throwing a disapproving glance at Nat.

“You alright kid?”

Wanda nodded.

“What did you see?” asked her brother.

“I… I am not sure. There was war… and suffering. There was fear, and a golden light then… Nothing. That was the worst part, the nothingness…”

All eyes were flickering between her and (Y/N), who was breathing heavily in fear.

“I warned you.”

Her voice was shaking. Suddenly, she drew herself up, gaining some composure.

“Do not ask this of me again. I will not endanger her a second time.”

With one last sorrowful glance at Tony, she rushed off to hide herself away once more.


	6. Chapter 6

(Y/N) didn’t leave her room for four days. She was trying to avoid the inevitable. She didn’t want to be sent away, not when she’d just decided to make connections. Having already lost so many people in her life, it had been a struggle just to open up to Tony…

As she sat imagining the worst case scenario, she thought of those who were now gone: her father, Hank, Erik, Raven… and so many others. Her family was lost to her.

 

**-Xavier Mansion, 1978-**

It was late at night when two figures stood on the steps of the great house. The few students that the school had were all in bed, sound asleep. Almost as soon as the knocking resonated through the main hall, the heavy wooden door was opened by none other than Hank McCoy, as if he’d been lying in wait for these men.

Though he seemed unphased by the fact that there were visitors, he was quite startled to see  _ who _ they were.

“Alex? Sean?” he breathed. “But I thought…”

He hesitated in disbelief.

“We thought you were dead.”

“Well, you thought wrong, man,” Sean said, stepping forward to pull Hank into a hug.

As the two of them came inside, Charles’s voice rang out.

“Hank, did you find out which of our old friends came to visit?” he asked, rolling around the corner.

“Um… Yeah, actually. I think you’ll be surprised,” Hank laughed.

A smile spread across Charles’s face when caught sight of the special guests.

“Well if it isn’t Havok and Banshee. It is good to see you, my friends.”

Alex frowned in confusion.

“Were you expecting us?”

Charles hesitated.

“Well… We were expecting  _ someone _ , just not necessarily you two.”

At their puzzled expressions, Charles continued, “Come on, let’s all go sit down. I have a feeling you both have more than a few questions.”

 

Once they were all comfortable in one of the many living rooms, Alex asked, “So how did you know we were coming?”

Charles chuckled lightly.

“That bit is rather complicated, I’m afraid. You see--”

He cut himself off, noticing a small figure in the doorway.

“(Y/N), what are you doing up? It’s well past your bedtime, Little One.”

The two former X-Men’s attention was drawn to a little girl, who obviously a mutant. Two wings extended from behind her, making her seem even smaller in comparison.

“I’m sorry Papa, but I couldn’t sleep...”

Sean and Alex exchanged confused glances.

“The night visions again?” said Charles with a sympathetic expression.

The girl nodded, shyly walking into the room.

“This time was a little different…”

She went over to her father and climbed up onto his lap. Then, she acknowledged the guests for the first time.

“Oh, they came!” she smiled. “They look just like I saw. Can I see their powers?”

“Not right now, Sparrow.”

She giggled at the nickname.

“Perhaps tomorrow they’ll show you if you ask nicely. Now, what did you see in your dream?”

(Y/N) paused for a moment, then, “The man with the helmet... Erik? He was there again. He and the pretty lady needed our help.”

She leaned her head against his chest.

Then with a yawn, she said, “Something big is coming, Papa. We’ll be safe in the end, but there will be a cost…”

With that, the girl’s eyes fluttered closed and she drifted off to sleep. Charles gently stroked her hair, placing a kiss on her forehead. Hank stood and lifted her from his arms, mindful of her delicate wings.

“I’ll take her back to her room.” he said softly, walking out of the room with the sleeping child

“Um… Charles?” Alex asked after a slight pause. “Is she…  _ your _ kid?”

“And what was all that stuff she was saying about Erik?” Sean interjected.

The professor sighed, running a hand over his face.

“I suppose I should start from the beginning... Yes, she is mine. I didn’t know about her until her mother dropped her off at our doorstep with only a letter to explain things. It seems that an organization called ‘HYDRA’ got their hands on some mutant DNA that happened to be mine. I still have no clue how they acquired it, but they extrapolated my genetic code and used an mutant agent of theirs to be the mother. Once the woman realized that they planned on turning the child into a weapon, she tracked me down. She erased everything they had about me from HYDRA’s system, then brought (Y/N) to the mansion.

I never found out the woman’s name… In the letter, she said, ‘Don’t look for me or try to find out who I am, it’ll only draw them to you. I’ll be dead by the time you read this anyway.’ I didn’t believe it at first. After all, why should I? No one could possibly have that kind of technology, except for maybe Hank. But then…”

He shook his head, staring off into space.

“It was like parental instinct, but somehow... heightened by my mutation. I can read minds, but this was different. I could  _ feel _ her mind as though it was a part of mine, and I just knew.

As for her abilities, you obviously saw her wings. But, there’s more to it than that. Occasionally, she gets a glimpse into the future, or into someone’s past. I don’t think she even realizes she’s doing it sometimes. This morning, she mentioned that we’d be visited by some old friends.”

“That was why you were expecting us…” Sean realized.

Charles nodded in confirmation.

“So all that about Erik…” Alex trailed off.

The professor looked grim.

“Something big is coming…”


	7. Chapter 7

**-Present Day, Avengers Tower-**

(Y/N) was going crazy shut up in her room. Her wings were pretty much healed, and she was growing restless. So one night, she carefully crept out of her room, cautiously wandering down the hallway until she came to the stairs that led up to the roof. Just as she was about to open the upstairs door, a voice called out from behind her.

“I see you finally decided to leave your room. But only at night… Still avoiding me?”

(Y/N) whirled around, reverting to the defensive silence she’d had when she first arrived at the tower.

“Back to not talking, huh?” Tony shook his head. “I thought you trusted me.”

(Y/N) looked down at the floor, not daring to make eye contact. This is exactly why she had been so afraid of telling him the truth.

“You told me the truth, but didn’t even give me a chance to respond.”

He came toward her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.

“Hey,” he murmured, cupping her face with his hand.

She nervously met his eyes. There was something there, in the way that he looked at her. Something that hadn’t been there before. (Y/N) was suddenly very aware of how little space there was between them. One hand rested on her cheek, the other had moved to steady her at the waist. Only inches separated them.

Tony took a hesitant breath, when suddenly, the tower alarms blared loudly.

“Sir, we have a security breach,” FRIDAY called, causing the pair to jump apart. “I’ve alerted the other Avengers; the tower has been infiltrated by what appears to be a remnant of HYDRA.”

(Y/N)’s eyes widened in fear. Tony glanced down at her, an unreadable expression plastered across his face.

“Go,” he said forcefully. “They can’t find you, or they’ll try to take you again.”

(Y/N) paused, then ran back towards the common room floor. Once Tony was sure that she was headed to safety, he turned and made a break for the armoury.

“FRIDAY, get a suit ready!” he shouted as he ran.

“Sir, my system has been momentarily disrupted. The suits are currently offline.”

Muttering in anger, Tony went tearing down the halls, hoping to stick close to (Y/N). If he couldn’t use a suit to fight, then he was going to protect her without one. Little did he know, the secretive mutant had something else planned.

 

(Y/N) ran, but not to safety. She’d had a vision, and she wasn’t going to sit by and let someone die. Making her way to the landing area, she began to see the intruders locked in combat with the Avengers, most of whom were still in their sleepwear.

Steve and Thor were working together, using the shield and hammer in a well-practiced routine. Clint had managed to get to his bow and was thinning the enemy’s numbers from the vents.But none of them concerned (Y/N). Natasha had been cornered by multiple agents on the landing ledge, and they were nearly overwhelming her. She had been backed against the edge, dangerously close to falling.

The assassin took down the attackers, one by one, until she was facing only one. Back and forth they went, each equally matched in their skill. Unnoticed by the rest of the team, this duel went on. But there was a second HYDRA agent. He aimed his gun, pulling the trigger…

The impact sent Natasha to the ground, but there was no pain. She slid off the ledge, but grabbed ahold just before she fell. The spy looked up just in time to see (Y/N) clutching her abdomen, plunging off of the tower.

 

Tony had seen (Y/N) push Nat out of the way. His heart nearly stopped as she went over the edge. The thing that hurt the worst was knowing that there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t catch her without his suit, and those that could fly had other problems to worry about. Tony rushed over, hoping to at least help Natasha. But as he drew near, he could see that his friend’s grip was failing. He dove towards her, only to yell in despair as her hold slipped and she too was sent tumbling down in gravity’s unforgiving hold.

“NO!” he screamed, rage and desperation clawing at his insides. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony noticed the remaining agents. Standing quickly, he threw one over the edge as the man came at him. The other took a bit more effort, dodging a punch, Tony used his anger to land a solid blow to his temple, successfully knocking him out.

Just then, a shadow fell over him. Tony turned around to see (Y/N) with… wings? Her coat was off, now in her hand, and in her arms, she held Natasha by the waist. The assassin’s eyes were wide as the mutant weakly dropped her to the ground and made an awkward landing, stumbling forward to lean heavily against the wall.

Tony hesitated briefly, momentarily frozen by this new revelation. But upon seeing the red stain on (Y/N)’s side, he shook off his confusion and rushed over to her. The rest of the team, having finished off the remaining agents, noticed the commotion and came to investigate.

(Y/N) was soaked in blood, slumped against the wall. Tony had found a cloth and was pressing it to her side. Behind the mutant girl, two large wings were spread, twitching in pain as Stark applied pressure to the wound. The appendages were varying shades of brown, highlighted with white in some places and lighter on the underside, much like the markings of a sparrow.

Breathing heavily, the girl’s wide eyes darted around to each member of the group, attempting to gauge their reactions.

“Come on (Y/N), stay with me!” Tony said sternly. “Don’t you dare close your eyes. You’re gonna be okay.”

Her face contorted in pain and confusion.

“You… you don’t- you aren’t mad?”

“No, of course not. Why would I be mad? You have a right to your secrets.”

He brushed a strand of hair out her face; her eyes fluttered shut as she gasped for air.

“Tony, move.”

Natasha shoved him out of her way. He frowned, unsure of her intentions. Nat rolled her eyes at his expression.

“Relax. She saved my life, I’m not gonna hurt her.”

“Oh, so she has to take a bullet for you before you trust her?”

“Don’t misunderstand me, Stark. I still have some questions for her. But right now she needs medical attention, and I can’t get any answers if she’s dead.”

A weak chuckle surprised them both.

“My heart… is warmed by your concern, Agent Romanoff...” (Y/N) murmured weakly. “I’ll be happy… happy to answer all your questions, once… I am able.” She paused for breath. “I do believe… I’m about to pass out…”

With that, her eyes closed again and her body relaxed.

“No, no, no!” Tony growled. “Don’t do this to me, (Y/N)!”

“Get her to Cho, now!” Natasha ordered.

As the others took (Y/N) away, the spy remained. And though she hated to admit it, maybe--just maybe--she had been wrong about this girl.


	8. Chapter 8

Explosions and gunfire raged around the Avengers. The HYDRA base was heavily defended, but the team had come prepared. They were spread out all over the area, each working on wearing down the enemy defenses.

“Nat, get over to Wanda. She’s about to be overrun!” (Y/N) shouted to her friend. “I can handle the situation here.”

As if to prove her point, she used her wings to twist herself upwards, kicking two stray agents into unconsciousness on her way down.

“I got this, go!”

Natasha nodded and ran off to find the mind reader.

“Hey Tony!” (Y/N) called through the comms. “Clint is gonna need a lift in about 30 seconds, northeast corner of the roof!”

“I’m on it,” came the reply.

“(Y/N), what  else have you got for me?” asked Steve’s voice.

She paused to fend off an agent.

“Not much, as far as inner defenses,” she called back. “I’m still not too great at controlling what I see, and battles are harder to predict since there’s so many variables that are constantly changing.”

“I understand,” the Captain replied. “We’ll just have to face it the old-fashioned way.”

“Right up your alley then, Rogers,” (Y/N) snarked.

“Haha, very funny, Agent X. You’ve been spending too much time with Stark.”

“Well,” she replied, dropping an agent off the roof, “He is my boyfriend, Cap.”

 

**-One Year Ago-**

(Y/N) woke in a hospital bed with a sleepy Tony dozing at her side. Blinking the rest from her eyes, she nudged his hand with her own, jolting him awake.

“(Y/N)...” he whispered, sitting up. “You’re okay!”

He smiled, but then it dropped.

“I- I thought…”

Before he could continue, Natasha walked through the door.

“Well, Stark? How is-”

She cut off, noticing (Y/N)’s consciousness.

“You’re awake, I see.

(Y/N) shyly nodded, her uncovered wings nervously drawing closer to her body. Then, she spoke.

“How long was I…”

“About twelve hours,” the redhead shrugged. “You should have seen, Stark, he practically had a meltdown when they said it might be a while before you woke.”

Tony shot her a glare.

“I did not…”

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but (Y/N) could have sworn she saw the faintest hint of a blush dusting his cheeks. After a brief pause, she addressed the assassin.

“I believe you had some questions for me, Agent Romanoff?”

Natasha seemed somewhat surprised by her eagerness.

“Are you sure you don’t want to rest up a bit first?”

(Y/N) shook her head, readjusting her wings as she sat up.

“No. I think it’s time to be honest with you…” she said, glancing at Tony. “All of you. After all, if I don’t trust you, how can I expect any of you to trust me?”

The spy thought about this for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay. But since you haven’t been cleared by Banner or Cho yet, the team is gonna have to come in here.”

(Y/N) smiled.

“Good thing this hospital room is so big then.”

Nat smirked. She had to give the girl some credit for having a sense of humor despite her circumstances.

“In that, case, I better go round everyone up,” she replied.

With that, the spy turned and walked out, leaving the pair alone.

There was a slight pause. Tony cleared his throat.

“So, um…” he trailed off.

“You were worried about me?” (Y/N) teased lightly.

He cleared his throat again.

“Maybe just a little bit…”

She raised an eyebrow, smirking.

“Okay, I was worried,” he admitted. “But I knew you’d be alright.”

He hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say something else.

“Is the great Tony Stark at a loss for words?” she joked, smiling slightly.

But Tony remained serious.

“Yeah, I guess I am… Who would’ve thought, right?” he chuckled, shaking his head. “The playboy billionaire, no strings attached, got caught in a mess of heart strings.”

He looked at her sincerely.

“I play it cool, pretending like I got my act together, but one glance at you and I’m suddenly a hot mess.”

Tony sighed, running a hand over his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all of this on you so suddenly… I’ll just-”

“No Tony, I understand. I… It’s the same with me,” (Y/N) admitted, turning slightly pink.

Tony looked up, suddenly filled with hope. He reached over and took her hand in his, grinning like a kid on Christmas day. He leaned forward a bit, closing the gap between them.

“Well in that case, I-”

Just then, the door opened to reveal Natasha and the rest of the Avengers. The redhead raised an eyebrow, taking in their close proximity.

“I hope we’re not interrupting anything…” she smirked.

(Y/N) went bright red as the team filled the room.

“By the way,” Nat added, glancing at Tony, “Bucky just got back from his solo mission. He’s here to meet the new recruit.”

Her choice of wording was quite purposeful. She shot a small smile to (Y/N) who responded similarly. However, her face dropped when Bucky came in. She didn’t panic, but she started breathing deeply as if to calm herself. The heart monitor beeped more rapidly, but (Y/N) didn’t display any emotion.

When Bucky caught sight of her, he seemed confused, as if he were trying to remember something important. Then, his face showed guilt and regret.

“I’m so sorry…” he whispered.

“What?” Tony asked, looking between the pair.

(Y/N) turned to him shakily, her voice unsteady.

“When I was with HYDRA…”

She swallowed nervously, hesitating.

“I knew the Winter Soldier.”

Tony frowned, glaring at Bucky.

“Knew how?

(Y/N) shook her head, unable to speak.

“I tortured her,” Bucky stated emotionlessly, staring at the floor.

“You didn’t know what you were doing,” (Y/N) comforted softly.

He looked up, as if he couldn’t believe that she was so quick to forgive him. (Y/N) smiled, though there was a solemn air to it.

“You know, I never even knew your name… Bucky, is it?” she asked, glancing at Natasha for confirmation.

Bucky nodded.

“I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you properly,” she said, holding out her hand.

He slowly came over and shook with her.

“Likewise.”

Releasing her grip, she sighed.

“Now, I suppose it’s time to tell you all my story… There are some parts that even I don’t know, so bear with me, if you would.

“I was created by HYDRA, scrapped together from some mutant DNA, just because they could. I was meant to be a weapon, but my mother apparently realized the error of her loyalties. She defected from HYDRA and tracked down my father.”

(Y/N) paused.

“I, um… My father and I never met my mother. She died to protect our identities.

“My powers were quite apparent, even towards the beginning of my childhood. My father helped me to keep control of them, but… There were variables that even he couldn’t have predicted.

“I joined a group of people who were like me. Mutants, I mean. I used my abilities to protect humans, similar to what you do here. I was doing something good, helping people. But HYDRA found me.

“I suppose they must have found some of my blood from when I’d been wounded at one of the sites… and they registered it as mine, their missing experiment… So they set a trap for me, and that’s how I wound up their prisoner.”

(Y/N) took a deep breath, almost reluctant to continue. She dropped her gaze, suddenly fixated on playing with the seam of the hospital blanket.

“That’s… how I met the Soldier. HYDRA wanted information, you see. Wanted to know where I’d been, how my mother got me away from them…”

She took a deep breath.

“I couldn’t…” her voice broke. “I had to protect my family.”

FInally, she looked up to Tony.

“It was the only thing that kept me going, really. Knowing that I was keeping them safe.”

(Y/N) turned to Bucky.

“I never blamed you, or hated you for what you did. Because of my powers, I knew a bit about what they had done to you. You were just as much a prisoner as I was. But in your future… I knew things would get better.”

She smiled a little.

“SHIELD found me and, well, here we are.”

The Avengers, who had been listening intently, remained silent, somewhat moved by what they’d heard.

“You haven’t explained about your powers yet,” Natasha observed. “Why you’re so afraid them, what happened when you lost control…”

“I’d rather not ever speak of that, if you don’t mind,” (Y/N) replied, shaking her head. “It brings up… bad memories.”

The team nodded in understanding. Then, Bucky spoke up.

“What’s your father’s name? We could find him for you. I’m sure he’ll want to know you’re alive.”

(Y/N)’s face grew somber.

“I- I think he’s dead.”

Breathing deeply, she continued, “We had a special bond, you see. I could always sense his mind, but now… I don’t know if it’s just something that HYDRA did, or…”

She paused, struggling to keep her voice even.

“He was already an old man when I was taken. The news of my capture was most likely the tipping point.”

She chuckled sadly, wiping away the tears that had come to her eyes.

“His students used to call him ‘Professor X’... but he was always  _ Papa _ to me. He used to call me his little Sparrow.”

(Y/N) looked to the Avengers with sudden composure.

“I’d like to think he’d be proud of me if he could see me now…” she sighed, then her face lit up as if she’d just thought of something.

“He would’ve liked you all, though.”

She smiled, glancing down briefly.

“You said you were part of a team?” Steve asked.

(Y/N) nodded. Exchanging a glance with Natasha, the Captain continued.

“How would you feel about joining ours?”

A joyful grin spread across the mutant’s face.

“Well…” she began, “I’m a bit out of practice, but I suppose I could give it a try.”

Natasha smiled.

“Welcome to the team, Sparrow.”


	9. Chapter 9

**-Present Day-**

Back at the tower, once everyone had cleaned up from the mission, the team was relaxing in the common room trying to decide what movie to watch.

(Y/N) and Tony were sitting on the loveseat together, her legs draped over his lap. They ignored the argument, opting instead to try and make the other laugh. Tony poked her side and she giggled, extending a wing over to flick him in the face with the tips of her feathers.

“Hey lovebirds,” Bucky called. “Settle down, the movie’s about to start.”

The pair exchanged a glance, rolling their eyes with a smile.

This family was crazy, but it was certain for all of them that they wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Not willingly, anyways.

 

(Y/N) woke up screaming. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence; although, as always, Tony was there for her.

“Hey, hey! Sweetheart, I’m here,” he soothed, pulling her close.

She wrapped her arms around his strong frame, clinging tightly to him as if he might disappear, and buried her face in his chest. He kissed her head comfortingly as her small form trembled with terrified breaths.

“What did you see this time?” he whispered.

(Y/N) shook her head, softly sobbing.

“You-” she broke off. “There was blood everywhere…”

Tony calmingly  stroked her hair as her voice faded to a shaky whisper.

“You were lying on the ground.”

Now she pulled away to look him in the eyes, still gripping tightly to him as though he were her lifeline.

“You weren’t moving.”

Tears spilled from her eyes, prompting Tony to pull her back to him.

“Shh…” he soothed, kissing her again.

“It’s okay, look at me. I’m here, I’m okay.”

(Y/N) trembled.

“Tony… Tony, you know that my dreams--”

“Hey,” he cut her off, lifting a hand to cup her face. “Don’t worry about it.”

He looked at her reassuringly, wiping the tears from her cheek.

“You’ve been wrong before, (Y/N). It’s gonna be okay.”

She nodded, not really believing him.

_ Only time will tell… _

 

In the jet on the way to the mission site, (Y/N) sat alone, anxiously wringing her hands.

“You okay, Sparrow?” came Natasha’s voice.

Startled, (Y/N) looked up at her best friend.

“Of- of course, I’m fine,” she shakily dismissed. “Just… nerves.”

Nat shot her a look.

“You don’t get nervous. Now do you wanna tell me what’s really bothering you?”

(Y/N)’s eyes wandered over to Tony, who was obliviously discussing strategy with the Captain. Natasha followed her gaze.

“Just… keep an eye on him for me, would you? I… I just have a bad feeling.”

Seeing that the mutant wasn’t going to say anything more, Natasha just nodded.

 

Things were going smoothly, for the most part. The Avengers were picking the base apart as usual, with no major complications. That is, until there was an uncharacteristic silence from the team’s resident billionaire.

“FRIDAY!” (Y/N) yelled desperately, “Where is Tony?”

“Mr. Stark was forced to abandon the Iron Man armour. I can’t seem to contact him.”

Panic bubbled in her gut.

“What was his last location?”

As FRIDAY began to give her directions, Steve’s voice rang out over the comms.

“(Y/N), wait for backup. It could be a trap, and you know you don’t see clearly when you’re emotionally compromised.”

“I saw pretty clearly last night, Captain,” she spat, “I’m not going to let him die because I wasted my time waiting for backup!”

With that said, (Y/N) took off into the air. She quickly reached the location, scanning the area for her boyfriend. Then, she saw the remnants of the suit. FRIDAY said he had been forced to abandon it… and Tony would never let HYDRA get their hands on his precious arc reactor technology. Of course he would have set it to self-destruct.

“Don’t move,” came a voice, as the cold barrel of a gun was pressed against the back of her neck.

“Turn around slowly, and put your hands up.”

(Y/N) did as instructed, facing the HYDRA agent. She noticed more agents, one of whom was restraining a beat-up Tony.

Well, at least she’d found him.

“Come along peacefully,” the agent growled, “And we will have no reason to harm you or your lover.”

(Y/N) scoffed.

“You don’t need a reason.”

“You’re right,” the agent agreed, striking her across the face with the butt of the gun.

Tony yelled indignantly, struggling against the agent’s hold.

(Y/N) shot him a look. Taking the hint, the two of them coordinated their attacks. Tony broke free, and chaos erupted. For a moment, it looked like they were going to get out of this sticky situation.

All was going well until Tony got shot. The gun went off. (Y/N)’s vision was happening right before her eyes. He fell to the ground, shirt soaked with red.

(Y/N) ran over to him, ignoring the danger, to put pressure on his wound. The click of a gun’s safety sounded behind her.

“Mutant freak,” the man growled.

“Subject X!” she said quickly.

“What?” he asked, confusion plastered on his face.

“I’m Subject X.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes.

“You’re coming with me.”

“I’ll only come peacefully if he lives.”

The man glared at her, but (Y/N) didn’t back down. Finally, he relented, motioning to two other agents who came forward to help carry Tony. One of the men tried to pull (Y/N) away, but she defiantly clung to him, determined not to be separated.

The pair was roughly dragged down under the base, the fight still raging outside. They were brought to a sort of underground escape tunnel when the guards suddenly stopped the group.

The leader reached up and snatched (Y/N)’s comm device from her ear.

“Can’t have you calling your little friends on us now, can we?”

Suddenly, (Y/N) felt the prick of a needle in her neck, and the world began to go dark.

“I think you will cause less trouble if you are asleep, no?”

Then everything was black.


	10. Chapter 10

**-Xavier Mansion, 1978-**

The next morning, the two revenant X-Men found themselves in the familiar kitchen, along with their friends. They talked about old times and caught up with each other, discussing what had happened over their years apart.

As they laughed at one of Sean's outrageous stories, little (Y/N) entered the room. She was lacking her usual bounciness, however, which did not go unnoticed by her father.

“Is everything alright (Y/N)?” he questioned.

The attention turned to the tired girl, who sighed and slowly blinked the sleep from her eyes.

“It’s nothing, Papa…” she yawned.

Charles gave her a stern look.

“You know you can’t lie to me, Little Sparrow,” he said, tapping his temple. “No tell me what’s troubling you.”

“Well,” (Y/N) started reluctantly, “After I went back to sleep last night, I had the dream again. But then, everything started to hurt. I could feel the people’s pain like it was my own… I saw nothing and everything at the same time. It was like a hundred visions bombarded me all at once…”

Charles’s face dropped into a frown. He moved over to her, looking her in the eyes.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked in concern.

(Y/N) nodded.

Charles thought for a moment.

“Hank, come with me. Just get something to eat, (Y/N). Sean and Alex will look after you for a bit..." he said, with a pointed glance at the pair.

After the scientist and the professor were gone, the girl made her way over to Alex, who looked unsure of what to do.

“Don’t worry Uncle Alex, I’m not very high-maintenance at all.”

Havok was slightly caught off guard by her “Uncle Alex” comment, but he brushed it off.

“You’re pretty smart for your age, you know that?”

(Y/N) nodded, smiling. Then, she suddenly frowned, moving towards the kitchen doorway.

“Someone is here to see Papa.”

Sean and Alex exchanged a glance.

“Let’s go see who it is then, kid.”

 

The front doors opened to reveal… Erik, with Raven in her disguised form at his side. The metal manipulator looked confused as he saw who had opened the door.

“Havok? Banshee? I--”

“Thought we were dead?” Alex interjected. “Yeah, we’ve been getting that a lot lately.”

Sean glanced down at (Y/N), who was frowning in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned.

“That’s not her…” the girl whispered.

Sean glanced over to the two mutants at the door.

“Who, Raven?”

(Y/N) nodded in confirmation.

“That can’t be the lady in my dream. She’s not all…” (Y/N) trailed off as if she couldn’t think of the word. She held up her hand to demonstrate. “She’s not all  _ pretty _ .”

“Pretty?” Raven spoke up. “You mean… blue?”

(Y/N) nodded happily, relieved that someone understood. Raven took on a thoughtful expression, then slowly, her natural color began to show.

(Y/N) gasped in amazement.

“You’re so beautiful!” she exclaimed in awe.

Raven laughed as the girl traced the patterns on her hand.

“You really think so?”

“Oh yes!”

Erik frowned at (Y/N), noting her accent.

Looking to Alex, he asked, “Is she…”

“Charles’s kid? Yeah. It’s complicated… I think the professor should be the one to tell you.”

(Y/N) looked away from Raven, who had disguised herself once more, and over to Erik.

“What is it you’re running from?” she questioned innocently, rubbing her forehead.

Erik chuckled humorlessly.

“Ah, a mind reader like your father… I should have guessed.”

She’s not a mind reader, Erik.” Sean said, glancing down at the winged girl protectively.

(Y/N) reached  up to Erik, taking his hand and pulling him inside.

“Papa calls it cosmic awareness. It’s how I know things that I shouldn’t.”

Erik looked a bit startled by her familiarity, but he didn’t pull away.

“I think Papa will be glad to see you.”

Magneto hesitated.

“I don’t know, child. I caused a lot of trouble for him the last time we saw each other…”

“No, he might act that way, but he’s secretly pleased that you’re not dead.”

She hesitated.

“He’s also scared of whatever could be so bad that you would seek his help…”

Raven smirked at Erik as (Y/N) dragged him down the halls towards the lab. He rolled his eyes at the shapeshifter, then addressed the young Xavier.

“Indeed… Your father and I have much to discuss.”

 

**-Present Day-**

(Y/N) started awake, abruptly pulled out of her dream of the past by a sudden rush of adrenaline. Looking around, she noticed that she was alone in a dark cell. There was a moment of panic as she looked down to see her hands covered in blood.

_ Tony… _

Where was he? Was he okay? Quickly stumbling to her feet, she pressed her face against the barred opening of the door.

“Hey!” she yelled. “Hey, is anyone there? Where is Tony?”

(Y/N) never would have dared to act this way when she was HYDRA’s prisoner before, but now she was scared for Tony’s safety and angry that they were here. A guard suddenly appeared.

“Shut up,” he snapped. “Your boyfriend is fine.”

“Then let me see him,” (Y/N) demanded.

“You don’t get to give me orders, freak.”

“Do not test me,” she growled, eyes flashing gold. “I have much more power than you realize, and trust me, it’s not pretty when I lose control…”

The guard glared at her, but took notice of something down the hall.

“Well, looks like you get to see him after all.”

The cell door opened and (Y/N) was roughly dragged out and shoved down the hall. They took her to an interrogation room where Tony was already sitting in a chair. Upon seeing (Y/N), his face lifted.

“Tony!” she breathed in relief. “You’re okay…”

“Pipe down,” her escort said irritably. “There’s someone here to talk to the both of you.”

(Y/N)’s expression turned to panic as she was carelessly shoved into a chair. A gruff looking man entered the room, briefly glancing at Tony before facing (Y/N).

“Ah, Subject X. I see you finally decided to return… Well, more or less  _ decided _ .”

“I’m not your experiment any more,” she replied calmly.

“Oh, that’s right… You think yourself to be one of them… an  _ Avenger _ .”

“That’s because she is,” Tony spoke up.

The man looked over to him before ignoring his remark.

“You know what we want, Subject X. And now, thanks to you, we can get information on the Avengers…”

“I’ll die first,” (Y/N) spat. “Even  your precious Soldier couldn’t get me to spill, what makes you think you can?”

The man smiled, glancing at Tony.

“The Soldier had no leverage.”

(Y/N) paled but didn’t react, except to clench her jaw. The man came over to her, harshly grabbing her face and forcing her to look up at him.

“You think we plan to torture your lover to convince you?” he laughed. “Even then, I know you would not speak. But,”

He turned to Tony.

“This one will.”

Tony snorted.

“You think I can’t handle a bit of pain? I’m not saying anything.”

The man smirked cruelly.

“Your body may be strong… but I think your soul is much more fragile, no?”

His eyes wandered back to (Y/N) as he spoke, then nodded to one of the guards. The agent harshly pulled (Y/N) up from her chair. She struggled, but to no avail.

“Tony!” she called as she was dragged from the room, “Don’t worry about me, don’t tell them anything! No matter what!”

“(Y/N)!” Tony yelled back.

He glared at the man.

“Where are they taking her?” he demanded.

The man shrugged.

“You don’t need to worry about that… Now, tell me about (Y/N). What is the full extent of her powers? Where did she grow up? Does she know who her father is? How do--”

“You finished yet?” Tony interrupted. “Cause (Y/N) and I were supposed to be home in time for supper. Us kids do have a curfew, you know. Courtesy of our old man- who is, actually, a very old man, I might add. Of course--”

The man cut him off with a punch to the jaw.

“Fine...” the agent decided. “There are other ways to make you talk…”

He nodded to the remaining guard who spoke something in German into his walkie talkie.

A moment later, (Y/N)’s screams rang through the compound.

“What are you doing to her?” Tony growled.

The agonized cries that he heard now were worse  than anything a nightmare had ever drawn from her. The bloodcurdling screams radiated pain and terror. The sound was nothing like he’d ever heard, and it drove icy shards of terror straight through his heart.

“Stop! Whatever you’re doing, just stop it! Leave her alone!”

“You brought this on yourself, Stark.”

“Alright, alright!” Tony begged. “Just don’t hurt her, please…”

The man paused for a moment.

“I think Mr. Stark is ready to talk.”

The guard radioed a command, the it was silent. Even so, her agonized wails would haunt him forever.

“Have her taken back to the cell.”

The man turned to Tony.

“Now, Mr. Stark, I shall ask once more…”

 

Tony was tossed into a cell, the stitches in his shoulder still stinging. HYDRA was feeling generous, it seemed, as he noticed that (Y/N) was in the room with him. It was dark, but he could make out her small form.

“(Y/N)!” he called, rushing over to her.

“Tony…” she sobbed.

He went to assess her injuries, placing his hand on her back to help her sit upright. However, he quickly recoiled when she hissed in pain. His hand came away sticky… and warm. In the brief moment that he had supported her, Tony noticed that she was a great deal lighter than she should have been.

“(Y/N)...” he began, “What did they do to you?”

As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he felt that something was different but he couldn’t tell what. Catching sight of her blood-covered form, he took ahold of her wrists to look at her hands.

“That’s not mine…” (Y/N) choked out. “It’s yours, from when they shot you. I thought…”

She broke off.

Then, it suddenly clicked in Tony’s head.

“(Y/N), your wings…”

The beautiful appendages had been brutally sawed off, leaving only a bloody mess on the girl’s back.

“HYDRA’s revenge…” she said. “They never do anything halfway, huh?”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart…” Tony whispered, delicately pulling her closer. “I did what you told me not too…”

“It’s okay. You were just doing what you thought was right,” she reassured.

“The others will find us soon, I’m sure,” Tony comforted.

(Y/N)’s eyes flashed gold.

“They will find us soon… The question is whether or not they find us soon enough…”


	11. Chapter 11

**-Xavier Mansion, 1980-**

After Erik had explained--albeit cryptically--what their predicament was, Charles had welcomed them with open arms, saying they could stay for as long as they needed. Raven grew quite attached to (Y/N). In time, Erik grew to love her too. They had all formed something of a misfit family; they were all happy.

Until the past caught up with Erik and Raven--and the future caught up with them all.

 

**-HYDRA Base, Present Day-**

The experiments were back. HYDRA was merciless. They were determined to discover and exploit her cosmic awareness abilities, specifically her ability to see a person’s past or future.

They were trying to build something, a machine to change the game to their favor.

It was fortunate that the Avengers found them when they did.

The alarms blared throughout the compound, lights flashing everywhere.

“(Y/N),” Tony called. “(Y/N), they’ve found us.”

(Y/N) pulled herself to her feet, removing the small bit of wire they had concealed from its hiding place. She handed it to Tony, who began to pick the lock.

“Got it.”

The door sprung open and Tony took (Y/N)’s hand in his, leading her down the hall. They managed to avoid most of the guards, right up until the last stretch of hallway. A HYDRA agent stepped in front of the pair, blocking their escape. With no weapons to defend themselves, Tony and (Y/N) held up their hands in surrender. Suddenly, however, the agent was taken down by a blue blur.

“You didn’t see that coming?” the speedster smirked.

The smile dropped, however, upon seeing their condition.

“What did they do to you?”

An explosion rocked the ground.

“Never mind that, I’ve got to get you out of here. I found Stark and Sparrow. We’re heading your way,” Pietro called into his comm.

He lead the group out of the base. (Y/N) nearly collapsed, but Tony supported her weight.

“What are they doing?” the Sokovian remarked.

A few HYDRA operatives had made it back to their outdoor control board which was attached to some strange looking panels arranged in a circle, and were now desperately working on something.

(Y/N) stopped in her tracks.

“Oh no…”

“(Y/N)?” Tony called to her. “What is it? What’s going on?”

“They did it…” she whispered. “I- I can see…”

She suddenly cried out, pressing a hand to her head.

“(Y/N)! What’s wrong?” Tony asked urgently.

The ground shook, sending the trio down into the dirt. In the center of the circle of panels, a golden light began to glow and swirl, widening out. The HYDRA agents ran away, suddenly panicking. Whatever this was, it obviously wasn’t what they were expecting. This _thing_ was out of control.

“We have to get back to the jet!” Pietro called. “The others might be able to figure out what this is and shut it down.”

“You can’t,” (Y/N) gasped. “It can’t be undone… Not until it devours everything.”

“What do you mean? Sweetheart, what is it?”

(Y/N) shook her head as if trying to shake of a bad headache.

“They-- agh! They tried to meddle with time… but they can’t control it. It’s going to consume everything. Unless…”

‘Unless what?” Tony inquired.

“Unless it absorbs the source.”

Tony hesitated.

“Do we know what the source is? I have a feeling I’m not gonna like the answer…”

(Y/N) looked him in the eye, her tone grim.

“Me.”

At Tony’s unreadable expression, she continued.

“They used my abilities in order to make this thing work, and it draws its power from me…”

She took both of his hands in her own.

“It’s not gonna stop, Tony. It’ll pull the whole planet into the vortex, and then the galaxy, and the next galaxy, until the entire universe is just nothing…”

There was a wind coming from the vortex, pulling at all of them. Though (Y/N) seemed to be affected the most.

“No! I can’t… I can’t lose you! Please…” Tony begged.

“Tony…”

(Y/N) nearly lost her footing as the pull grew stronger, but Tony held her up.

“Tony, you have to let me go,” she said, struggling to free herself from his hold.

The earth shook again and both of them went down, (Y/N) sliding toward the vortex.

“No!” Tony yelled, diving after her.

He managed to grab ahold of her hand as her feet nearly touched the swirling light.

“Tony, you have to trust me! This is better for everyone!”

“It’s not better for me! I’ll always trust you, (Y/N), just tell me that you see this turning out okay and I’ll do what you say!”

She looked at him, her face filled with pain.

“I don’t know, Tony. I can’t see anything, I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me. But please, if I don’t do this, then everything ends.”

Tony hesitated.

“Okay.”

And with that, he let go.

And they both fell into the vortex together.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony started awake. The last thing he remembered was… (Y/N)! Where was she? He had sent himself into the vortex with her, both of them ending up here. But where was here?

He sat up. Looking around, he couldn’t see any buildings. He appeared to be in a field, presumably still in New York… Turning, he saw (Y/N) lying unconscious at his side.

“(Y/N).”

He reached over and gently shook her.

“(Y/N), come on…”

(Y/N) stirred slightly, then her eyes fluttered open. She frowned.

“Tony?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

She sat up suddenly.

“You idiot! I told you to let me go!”

“I couldn’t…” he said softly. “I’d rather die alongside you than live without you.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, and Tony smiled at his own cheesiness, though they both knew he was serious.

“We’d better see where we ended up. That vortex must have been some sort of portal.”

Tony nodded.

“Okay.”

Helping her to her feet, Tony cringed as (Y/N) winced.

“Are you okay?”

“I think my wounds reopened during that bumpy ride… It was a bit like being inside a blender.”

Tony looked at her back and sure enough, two large red splotches were growing where her wings used to originate.

“We need to get you medical attention. Come on.”

Taking her hand, he lead her out of the field to the nearest stretch of road.

“Oh this is bad…” (Y/N) remarked, as they approached a gas station.

The cars and architecture showed that they definitely were not in the right place. Everything was nearly four decades old, as far as style.

“I think I know where we are, Tony…” (Y/N) began, grabbing a nearby newspaper. “Welcome back to 1980.”

“1980? As in the  _ year _ 1980? But…” he trailed off.

(Y/N) looked up at him.

“HYDRA tried to mess with time… They must have wanted to change the past to their advantage, but they lost control. Which is what landed us here…”

There was a slight pause.

“How do we get back? I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want to relive these years.”

(Y/N) didn’t say anything. She looked somewhat hesitant, as if she knew something but didn’t want to say.  Reluctantly, she took a deep breath.

“I know someone who can help us…”

Tony raised an eyebrow.

(Y/N) sighed.

“It’s about time you met my father.”

 

**-Xavier Mansion, 1980-**

Erik, Raven, Hank, and Charles were all gathered in the Professor’s study. The old threat had finally caught up to Erik and Raven, and now it was a danger to them all.

A mutant with the ability to steal the powers of others was hunting down his fellow mutants and killing them. Apparently, he saw Magneto and Mystique as a challenge that he expected to overcome.

“Do you know how he managed to track you here?”

“There’s no way to be certain, but it is likely that he stole the ability of a mutant that did have the ability to find us.”

Unnoticed by the adults, little (Y/N) had snuck into the room, startling them all when she spoke.

“He’s closer than you think.”

Charles looked up.

“Sparrow, what have I told you about eavesdropping?”

“I’m sorry, Papa. But there were some people at the door. They said it was very important that they speak to you. They don’t belong here…”

Her father frowned.

“(Y/N), why would you say that? This is a safe place for anyone.”

The ten year old looked ashamed.

“I don’t know. I could just sense it about them. One is human, but the other… She’s like us, but something is off about her.”

Erik and Charles exchanged a glance, unsure of what she meant.

“Well, show them in.”

 

Tony was a little taken aback when (Y/N) suggested meeting her family. It was the one thing she never wanted to talk about, the topic she  _ always _ avoided, yet here they were, traveling upstate to her father’s mansion.

As they walked up the drive, Tony stared in amazement.

“This is where you grew up?”

(Y/N) glanced at him.

“What, you jealous or something?” she smirked playfully. Then, growing serious, she continued, “I just want to warn you, we’re probably going to run into my younger self. When I was ten, I could be a bit… Well, you’ll see.”

She stepped forward and knocked on the huge door. A moment later, a young girl with (Y/H/C) hair and (Y/E/C) eyes answered. Tony noticed that (Y/N) grew somewhat sad as the girl’s two wings were revealed.

“Who are you?” the girl questioned.

Then, she frowned.

“You don’t belong here…”

Tony frowned.

“What?”

“Look,” (Y/N) interjected, “We need to speak to the Professor, it’s very important.”

The girl shook her head.

‘I’m sorry about that, I just… I’ll just go find Papa. He’ll know what to do. Um, follow me.”

She led them into the mansion, stopping in front of some large wooden doors.

“Just wait here a moment.”

And with that, she disappeared into the office.

After a brief pause, Tony turned to (Y/N) with a slight grin.

“That’s you?”

(Y/N) looked over at him, rolling her eyes.

“Yes…”

Her face dropped as if she’d just thought of something.

“They can’t know who we are. We have to avoid changing any major events in my personal past, or else we could mess things up so badly that the two of us never meet…”

“Right…” Tony nodded, “Let’s not do that.”

Just then, the door opened to reveal a blond woman and five men, one of whom was in a wheelchair, as well as young (Y/N).

One of the men looked disdainfully at Tony, but frowned upon seeing (Y/N), as if he were trying to place where he’s seen her before.

“Have we met?” he asked.

“No, I don’t believe so, though I know who all of you are. My name is Nessa Romanoff, this is my boyfriend, James Rogers.” she lied, using an American accent instead of her natural British one.

She took a deep breath.

“Professor Xavier, we need your help.”

The man in the wheelchair lifted two fingers to his temple, focusing on (Y/N), but he suddenly frowned.

“I can’t read your mind.”

The others with him were immediately wary.

“Who are you?” asked the woman distrustfully.

“We’re from the future,” (Y/N) interjected, before Tony could say anything.

Charles’s fingers crept toward his temple again, this time looking toward Tony.

“Please don’t do that, Professor,” (Y/N) said quietly.

He put his hand down, still frowning.

“Why should we trust you?”

Glancing uncomfortably at her younger self, (Y/N) remained silent.

Charles, noticing her reluctance, addressed the girl.

“(Y/N), could you give us a moment? Maybe go see how Jean is doing?”

Older (Y/N) looked as if she was just keeping herself together as her younger self left the room. She pulled Tony into the office and closed the door.

“I can’t tell you everything, Pa- Professor. We can’t risk messing anything up. If I could only–”

“Yes, well the last time we had a visitor from the future, all of our lives got rather mucked up, so forgive us if we’re a bit hesitant to believe you.” the first man said.

Tony stepped forward.

“Just hang on there… sorry, what was your name?”

“Tony…” (Y/N) murmured. “That’s Erik. Erik Lehnsherr.”

The man in question frowned.

“You know me, and you appear to know all of us… Yet we have never met you before,  _ Nessa _ .”

(Y/N) couldn’t look him in the eye. Suddenly, she grew lightheaded, clinging to Tony for support.

“Please,” Tony said desperately. “She needs medical attention.”

A man with glasses stepped forward, but a tall blond man put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Hang on a minute, Bozo. We still don’t know anything about you two.”

(Y/N)’s face, though pale, hardened in annoyance.

“Alex Summers, you discovered at a young age that your powers didn’t mix well with your temper. You wanted to be there for your little brother, Scott, but you got sent to juvie instead. Until Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr asked if you wanted to use your skills for something better.

So you joined their team, the little group of ‘X-Men’, and you finally found a place to fit in. You got dragged off into the war in the early seventies and everyone thought you were dead. But you came back to this mansion one dark night with Sean Cassidy, also known as Banshee. And you met a little girl who was expecting you. Because she could see through time, could see random facts and things that she shouldn’t know.”

The man frowned in awe.

Tony supported (Y/N)’s full weight as the malnutrition and dehydration plus the blood loss finally got to her and she passed out.

“Look, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but this is (Y/N).”

He glanced at the Professor.

“Your (Y/N). From the future. Please, I’m begging you, just help her. We’ve just escaped from HYDRA…”

Charles paled in shock.

“(Y/N)…? But she…” he trailed off, looking towards where the younger girl had disappeared. “She can’t be… HYDRA had her?”

“Where are her wings?” a redheaded man blurted out.

“Banshee…” Erik reprimanded.

“No, I wanna know what happened. Because she,” he pointed to (Y/N), “Is a lot more broken than that sweet little girl we all know.”

“She is  _ not broken _ ...” Tony growled. “She’s just been through a lot of crap, more than any of you. And so help me, if you don’t do something for her right now, you won’t live to see her grow up.”

“Hank, get her to the medical wing.” Charles ordered.

“(Y/N)…” Erik whispered in disbelief.

The nerdy man that was apparently named Hank led Tony down the halls. They came into a medical wing, and he was instructed to put (Y/N) on one of the beds. Hank made him leave the room, which he obviously wasn’t too happy about.

Outside, he paced nervously.

“You are… human?” came a voice from behind him.

He jumped, turning around.

“Oh, it’s you.  _ Erik _ , right? And yeah, I’m human. Though I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

The man rolled his eyes.

“You’re not her kind. You can never be good enough for her.”

Tony glared at him harshly.

“Listen up, cause I’m only gonna say this once: I love (Y/N), with everything I have, whether I’m ‘ _ her kind’ _ or not. I don’t care who you think you are, but you need to take a step back.”

Erik stepped closer, obviously trying to be intimidating.

“It doesn’t matter how old she is, or if I am dead in the time that you come from. I will protect this girl with my life. That includes protecting her from human lowlifes like you.”

Tony opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by a small voice from the doorway.

“Uncle Erik, give it a rest.”

The two men looked over at the girl who tiredly slumped against the doorframe. She glared at Tony, no longer bothering to disguise her voice.

“I told you not to tell them.”

He held his hands up in defense.

“You needed help and they were just arguing with me.”

Her gaze softened and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I suppose we should all have another talk now… We have quite a few years to catch up on, after all.”


	13. Chapter 13

So (Y/N) told their story--though mindful of maintaining the timelines--and when she was finished, the X-Men stared in shock, some with anger at HYDRA’s mistreatment of her. Meanwhile, Erik spent the whole time glaring at Tony…

“How on earth did HYDRA get ahold of you?” Charles questioned, frowning.

(Y/N) shook her head.

“I shouldn’t say…”

When Charles looked as if he were going to protest, she continued, “You’d be tempted to change it. And don’t deny it, I know you. One of you…”

She looked around the room, making eye contact with each member of her family.

“One of you  _ would _ change it. But if you do…” she trailed off, glancing at Tony. “Then my life won’t take the course that it was meant to. I know, I’ve had horrible things happen to me. But the good outweighs the bad by far.”

Tony put his arm around her waist, pulling her close.

Charles looked at the woman--  _ (Y/N) _ , he reminded himself. She was avoiding eye contact with anyone, seemingly very interested in the floor. It was strange to suddenly see his little ten year old daughter as a grown woman. With a boyfriend… He could have sworn he had heard the name “Stark” somewhere before.

“Very well then, (Y/N). As hard as it may be, we will respect your judgement,” Charles sighed.

“Thank you, Papa…” (Y/N) suddenly paused. “Exactly what date is it?” she demanded. When her father answered, she paled. “Oh no…”

“(Y/N)?” Tony called. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to go. Now. Anywhere but here.”

Erik stepped forward, concerned.

“Why? What’s going on?”

She shook her head.

“Tony and I shouldn’t be here… We risk changing things if we stay.”

“(Y/N), calm down. Explain as much as you can…” Charles spoke up.

Taking a deep breath, she sat back in a chair.

“Okay… Something big is about to happen. I can’t tell you but-- _Oh_  I want to change it so badly…” she breathed, running her fingers through her hair.

Tony sat next to her and pulled her close as tears welled in her eyes.

“I can’t watch it happen again…” she muttered.

Then, she paused, her mind running a thousand miles a minute.

“Don’t you dare think about changing anything.” Alex piped up. “I know that look, even if you are a few years older. After the lecture you just gave you shouldn’t even be thinking about something like that, kiddo.”

“But--” (Y/N) started.

“No.” he interrupted. “What if you change it and because of that, you don’t meet him?” he challenged, nodding at Tony.

(Y/N) deflated.

“I… I…” she sighed. “You’re right…” She suddenly stood. “In that case, we should be going.”

“Please stay…” Charles begged. “Just resist changing anything and--”

“How?” she demanded desperately. “How am I supposed to just let it happen?”

Tony spoke up, “Can I talk to (Y/N) alone?”

Charles looked hesitant, but nodded. Erik wasn’t quite so willing. After a look from (Y/N), however, he left as well.

“What’s this about, Tony?”

He didn’t answer at first, instead taking a deep breath and running a hand over his face.

“I think… I think you should change what you need to change.”

She looked at him like he’d just grown a third eye.

“What?! Tony, I can’t. What if--”

“This is your family, (Y/N)! That’s more important than me. I’ll still be around, but if you’re going to lose one of them--”

“But you’re my family too, Tony! You and the Avengers! How can I make that choice?”

He froze, seemingly caught off guard at her words.

“You… Look, I know what you’re thinking, but it’ll be okay. I’m telling you that it’s okay to make this choice, so if that’s what’s holding you back… don’t let it. It’s alright to do this. I can see how much you want to.”

She still looked conflicted.

“I…”

Tony kissed her softly.

“Do what your heart tells you.”

Sighing heavily, she murmured, “I will… But my heart wants more than one thing.”


	14. Chapter 14

This was by far the worst decision anyone had ever asked (Y/N) to make. One family or the other. The future she knew, or the past she could change. How could she choose?

As she paced the corridors of her childhood home, she was vaguely aware of the curious stares she received from passing students. Trailing a hand along the wall like an anchor, (Y/N) lost herself in her thoughts. This would hurt, no matter what she chose.

Wandering out to the garden, she found herself resting in the shade of the tree her great grandfather had planted. It was funny, she thought, how it was still here. In her time, nothing remained of it but scorched splinters due to Scott… But that wouldn’t happen for another three years to come.

When she was first learning to fly, (Y/N) had used this tree to practice gliding from. In her preteen years, she would sit in its highest branches and watch the students go by. Even after it was destroyed, the pieces were used to make her new furniture for sentimental reasons. It was so strange now to see it whole again. Much like herself…

She had been an innocent child with deep family roots, until something that no one could have predicted had shattered her world. But even so… She had been made into something just as good. But what would have happened if her life had never been broken? Should she take the risk and find out?

Hesitantly, (Y/N) reached for the lowest branches. Getting up was much more difficult now that she couldn’t fly. Once she reached her destination, she observed the quiet life around her. It was beautiful, normal… It was how her life should have gone.

But was it what she wanted? Tony, the other Avengers… What would their relationship to her be like if she were still an X-Man? There was no way to know for sure. Tony had told her to do what she needed to, but what if she lost him? He… He was okay with that?

Even with the multiplying pros and cons, the choice was becoming clearer and clearer.

There was obviously only one path to follow.

 

**-Present Day, Avengers Tower-**

Tony blinked awake, feeling strange and subtly out of place, like all the furniture had been moved two inches to the left while he was asleep or something. Whatever it was, he couldn’t quite identify it… Oh well, it would dawn on him eventually.

Stretching the rest of the exhaustion from his system, he smiled down at the sleeping figure beside him. He leaned closer and kissed her forehead, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She murmured softly and blinked up at him.

“Morning sweetheart,” Tony said softly.

Smiling back at him, she sat up and returned the greeting.

“Good morning… What time is it?”

Tony shrugged.

“Who cares? It’s our day off.”

She gave him a stern look.

“Tony, I still have things to do.”

“Nope, not today. You and I are going to just take one day to ourselves.”

There was a brief stare down between his puppy eyes and her quickly relenting glare.

“Fine, but only for a little while.”

He grinned.

“Great! I promise you won’t regret it, Pepper.”

She just rolled her eyes, smiling playfully.

“I better not.”

Pulling her close, he kissed her softly.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Tony.”

The “off” feeling was quickly fading. Everything was as it should be.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Yes, this series is still a thing! I’m just as shocked as you all! Now, I don’t want to linger in the alternate timeline for too long, but I hope this part doesn’t feel rushed! Sidenote, I do not hate Pepper Potts, I totally ship Pepperony, but that is not how this story is going to go, so I’m trying to avoid demonizing her as I go along! Please do let me know if I’m not succeeding a that... Thanks!

(Y/N) Xavier descended the main stairs of her father’s--well,  _ hers _ now. Her mansion… It had been for quite some time, but she still never got used to the fact that her father was gone, the school now hers. When she reached the foyer, she paused, smiling wistfully at a group of kids a they ran by.

“Morning (Y/N),” Scott greeted. She smiled in acknowledgement and headed to her office.

Today was the day that the X-Men were to meet the Avengers to team up. After working separately for so long, both groups had decided that they should form something of a relationship so that they could help each other if ever a problem arose that they couldn’t face alone. (Y/N) was nervous, admittedly, but she also had the strangest feeling of familiarity, like she was meant to go to the Avengers tower. After the final arrangements were made, she loaded the X-Men into the jet and headed that way.

 

“Welcome to the tower, X-Men.” Tony said boredly to the mirror.

“Oh come on, Tony, you can do better than that.” Pepper said as she held out two ties for him to choose from.

“Really? Cause I don’t see why we have to be so formal with this whole shebang. Couldn’t we just throw a party?”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “No. This is an important milestone for both groups, try to be a little more excited…”

“Parties…  _ are _ exciting, Pep! Come on…”

“No.”

“Maybe just a small one?”

“No!”

 

“You sure about this, Professor X?” Hank muttered to her from the pilot’s seat. “Maybe we should’ve waited another week… You know how that Stark guy is.”

“We can’t put it off any longer, Hank. And please, as I’ve said many times before, Professor X was my father.”

“I know… I just think he’d be proud to see you take up the title.”

(Y/N) sighed and murmured, “Perhaps someday… Just not today. What’s our ETA?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Alright everyone…” She turned to face the rest of the team. “Let’s do this.

 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Xavier. I spoke with your father a few times before he passed.”

“Likewise, Doctor Banner. He spoke quite highly of you…”

Banner smiled modestly, then glanced up at the doorway of the meeting room. “Tony should be here shortly… I don’t know what’s keeping him.” He paused, then, “Actually, I probably do…”

(Y/N) laughed softly. “His fiancee, right?”

He seemed a bit confused at first, but it only took a moment for him to recall her powers. “Ah, here he is.”

Sure enough, the playboy billionaire was walking through the door. The moment (Y/N) saw him, a monstrously ill feeling welled up in the pit of her stomach and she went weak at the knees, only just barely supported by Scott in time.

“Are you alright, ma’am?” came a voice.

“F-fine…” she managed to force out.

“Here--Buck, get her a chair…”

And then, she heard no more. Memories flooded and nearly overwhelmed her mind, memories of another life… an alternate timeline. Snapping out of the daze, (Y/N) found herself in a chair, surrounded by worried faces. Once everything had settled, she brushed aside the questions with a wave of her hand.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake…” she murmured softly.

Stark…  _ Tony _ frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

(Y/N) paused. “I’m not talking about this meeting… I’m talking about something years ago.” She hesitated. “I’ve altered the timeline…” She looked into the eyes of her alternate life’s lover. “And I need your help to make it right.”


	16. Chapter 16

Needless to say, everyone was confused as to what (Y/N) meant by “altering the timeline”, but she wasn’t currently in the mood to explain the entire story.

“Hang on, I think you should explain, (Y/N),” Scott demanded, trying to keep up with her as she darted around the Avengers’ lab. The X-Men were half concerned, half just used to her weird antics, but the Avengers were obviously confused, standing back to observe as the winged girl gathered various supplies from all around the room, as if she’d been here before.

“No time to explain, I have to stop myself from changing everything…”

Scott fell silent and stepped out of her way. Tony, however, had finally reached the peak of his curiosity and stepped right into her path. (Y/N) faltered in her movements.

“Am I really that shockingly handsome?” the man teased. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m taken.”

(Y/N)’s eyes narrowed and she moved around him. “I don’t need this from you right now, Tony. Are you going to help me or not?”

Tony gently grabbed her by the wrist, forcing her to stop and look at him. “Hey, come on… Talk to me. What happened? You had like a vision or something?”

It was so hard to look at him and not even see a flicker of recognition. (Y/N) kept her eyes on the place where the arc reactor’s glow shone through his shirt.

“I remembered… I remembered what I changed. When I went back in time, I mean… I know it’s confusing, but this isn’t how things are supposed to be.”

He shrugged. “Then how are things _supposed_ to be?”

Finally, she lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. “You and I… We were…” She glanced at Pepper awkwardly.

Tony looked between the two women, putting the pieces together. “Oh, oh… And… You changed something? In time? Is that your thing, time traveling?”

(Y/N) shook her head. “No, but it’s a longer story than I have time to tell. _Please_ help me… I have to go back, I have to… I have to get back to _my_ timeline.”

Banner moved over to the desk and began writing things down. “So these separate timelines, they probably exist simultaneously… When you changed whatever you changed, you entered this one, our timeline, which is an alternate timeline for you. If we send you back, you fix what you changed, then when you return to the present, it should be your timeline.”

(Y/N) nodded slowly. “Right… Okay, I don’t know what HYDRA did to make that portal, but--”

“HYDRA?” Bucky demanded, cutting her off. “What did you have to do with HYDRA?”

The Avengers, including Tony, were eying her distrustfully now. (Y/N) knew she needed their trust or she’d never get back, so she gritted her teeth and, in a curt tone, began to explain.

“They shot my boyfriend, kidnapped me, and sawed my wings off without painkillers. And that’s not even including everything they did while I was their captive for ten years. Like being tortured by the _Winter Soldier_ , for instance…”

Everyone had gone silent. Bucky’s face was unreadable.

“Don’t question me.” Her voice was low and even. “Maybe you don’t believe me, but just humor me, for goodness’ sake.” Grabbing medical kit, (Y/N) turned to Dr. Banner. “You’ll need DNA samples from me, in order to use my mutation to manipulate the timestream.”

He nodded, then took what he needed to, following her instructions.

Suddenly, a thought occurred. “What will happen to my other self? When I stop her from changing things, will I disappear or will she?”

Banner put the samples away and looked over at her. “Theoretically, if this is a separate plane of existence as far as timelines, only one physical copy of you exists, and the consciousness is what travels between timelines. Your younger self would have remained, though, I’m guessing… because you remained in the same timeline and, therefore, the same plane of existence.”

(Y/N) looked thoughtful. “Okay, so I’ll go back and essentially wake up with more memories?”

He nodded. “That’s right. Then, you just _don’t_ do whatever you did to change things, and return home the same way. Then, the (Y/N) Xavier from our timeline should forget all of this that’s happened. Theoretically, all of us may forget this, or we could remember.”

“Right… In that case, let’s get to work.”


End file.
